


eumoirous

by jeien



Series: Oofuri Rarepair Ship Week 2015 [6]
Category: Ookiku Furikabutte | Big Windup!
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Oofuri Rarepair Week 2015, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-08
Updated: 2015-08-08
Packaged: 2018-04-13 13:57:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4524582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeien/pseuds/jeien
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ichihara's got a lot on his mind. Fortunately, Daichi's earnest personality helps uncomplicate things.</p>
            </blockquote>





	eumoirous

**Author's Note:**

> I really just like writing for the really minor teams, don't I? These two are especially under-appreciated. But it's okay! I'll appreciate you! 
> 
> For Rarepair Week Day 6: Win (with a hint of stargazing, too)

He had a lot of things running through his mind after their game with Nishiura. It was a clash of desires between wanting to play more baseball or give it up altogether. Fortunately, his elbow pains were deemed bad enough to warrant a week-long break from pitching; it gave him a little more time to hopefully come to a resolution, although the _It’s okay, Icchan, it’s not like we have a game to prepare for anytime soon_ left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Ichihara sighed deeply, lying against the grass near the bridge. He hadn’t felt like going home after practice let out—he still had to attend to observe everyone, after all—so he made a small detour to the nearest convenience store for a drink before mucking around in the general area. The streetlamps blocked out most of the stars that night, but he could pick out a few faint spots in the sky. If he looked even harder, he could’ve sworn it made the shape of a diamond.

_Pitching’s a commitment_ , he thought; the war continues. But as tiring as baseball was and as disjointed as his battery with Daichi was, Ichihara wants to be on that mound. He wants to be able to pitch his signature screwballs without fearing the elbow damage it would cause afterwards. He wants to become strong enough to lead the team Tai-san couldn’t—for both Tai-san and for the other juniors. He wants to feel the satisfaction of a victory that was won because they all played their best.

“Icchan-senpai!”

He almost huffed out a laugh as the hulking frame of their first-year catcher ran over. “It’s one or the other, Daichi. Either call me Ichihara-senpai or Icchan.”

Daichi sat down beside him with a plastic bag. His eyebrows furrowed and he looked visibly torn. “But… You’re a year above me! I can’t just call you ‘Icchan’ without the proper suffix!”

“For the love of…” He closed his eyes, fighting the urge to sigh again. Daichi was a troublesome kouhai, but he could never find it himself to actually be mad at him. His honest and earnest personality was kind of endearing. Kind of. Besides, even if Daichi got the message now, he’ll probably forget it in the morning. “Fine. But only you get to call me that, alright? Don’t do it with the others around, or else I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“Yes, I understand! Thank you, Icchan-senpai!”

“Yeah, yeah. Why’re you here anyway? Aren’t you going home yet?”

“Ah! Well, I…” Ichihara opened one eye to find Daichi rummaging through the plastic bag he brought. “It’s not much, but…”

He heard the sound of a box being opened and more plastic crinkling. Suddenly, an unwrapped popsicle was thrust in front of his face.

“Please accept this, Icchan-senpai!”

Ichihara sat up before the frozen dessert could drip all over his shirt and accepted his kouhai’s offering. “Uh?”

“It’s just… you seemed really sad lately since the second-round game so I thought…”

_He thought he’d get me a present to cheer me up_ , Ichihara filled in. Daichi really is a good kid, despite his dimwittedness. “Well, thanks, I guess.”

Daichi paled. “Ah… Icchan-senpai, I was being too presumptuous, wasn’t I?! I should have known better than to think you’d be upset over such a petty reason! I need to cleanse my soiled mind—!”

“Will you knock it off?!” He really needs to learn how to better control these situations with Daichi. “You don’t need to be overly considerate with me all the damn time. And the loss to Nishura isn’t as petty of a reason as you think!”

His yell echoed faintly into the quiet air and Daichi’s mouth froze in a small ‘o.’ Ichihara sighed again—he’d been doing that a lot lately, hadn’t he?—before taking a harsh bite off the tip of his popsicle to calm himself down. He needs to learn how to talk to his catcher.

“Listen to me, Daichi,” Ichihara began, knowing full well that Daichi was giving him his full attention. It almost made his heart skip a beat, although he won’t address that bit until later. “You… You’re a good guy. You’re an idiot a lot of the time, but you have a big heart. I was thinking about a lot of things and yet you went out of your way to try and help me. So I appreciate that. You weren’t being presumptuous at all. Give yourself a little more credit than that.”

Daichi’s eyes were brimming with tears, but they were beaming. “You mean that, Icchan-senpai?”

“I do.”

They ate their popsicles without any further conversation (although Daichi was humming a soft tune to himself). They stared up at the mostly empty sky, watching as more stars began to twinkle through the night, little by little.

“Ah,” Ichihara said, looking down at the popsicle once he finished. “I won.”

“Uwoh! Icchan-senpai, that’s amazing! We should go back to the convenience store to get the free box!”

Ichihara smiled. He’s made up his mind, thanks to Daichi. Maybe after this week-long break, they can work towards winning more than just popsicles.

(Although he won’t say that his catcher’s already starting to win his heart over.)


End file.
